Not once, but twice the William Hawley<\/a> family was devastated by fire. The logging industry was a primary industry in Northern Michigan in the late 1800s and early 1900s. William Hawley’s family was no exception.<\/p>\n

William moved his family from upstate New York to Long Rapids Township, Alpena County, Michigan<\/a> in about 1867.<\/p>\n\t

Although William classifies himself as a farmer on both the 1870 and 1880 US census, his family, being in the mostly unpopulated area of Long Rapids Township, was surrounded by the logging industry<\/p>\n\t

In May of 1874, William was living in Long Rapids Township with his second wife Sara Ann Healy<\/a>, and their five children; From William’s first marriage Franklin Hawley<\/a>, Charles Hawley<\/a>, and Minnie Hawley<\/a>, and from his marriage to Sarah<\/a> were Ellen<\/a> and William<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t

The great influence of people during the logging era, and the large areas of dry pine slash increased both the possibility of fire and the intensity of those which occurred. Many reached tremendous proportions, burning unchecked for weeks or months through slashings, standing timber, cities and settlements, causing human misery, death, and waste. There is evidence to show that these lumbering era fires destroyed more merchantable timber than was cut.[zref]HSRBI9B5[\/zref]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\t

On Saturday, May 12th, 1874 tragedy struck William’s family in the form of a forest fire.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t

[zref]”The Fires in Alpena County,” Article, Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, 14 May 1874, In the Township of Long Rapids, , p. 1, col. 8;; online images, Newspapers.com (www.Newspapers.com : Downloaded 9 January 2019); https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/image\/118157662\/?terms=The%2BFires%2Bin%2BAlpena%2BCounty%2BHawley.[\/zref]<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t

[zref]”Long Rapids,” Article, Alpena Argus, Alpena County, Michigan, 13 May 1874, Details about fire at residence of William Hawley Family; online images, Newspapers.com (WWW.Newspapers.com : Viewed 19 April 2021). Page 3.[\/zref]<\/p>\n\t

From these two newspaper articles, one from the Detroit Free Press and the other from the Alpena Argus, we learn that William Hawley<\/a> and his family suffered a catastrophic loss. The family lost two houses, all household goods, two barns, and all that was inside of them.<\/p>\n\t

But even worse than the financial and structural loss was the personal loss. The Hawley family barely escaped with their lives. The children were all injured in some fashion. The heroine of the story is Mrs. Sarah Ann Hawley<\/a>. While trying to save her son William Martin Hawley<\/a> who was 10 months old, Sara’s dress caught fire and she was only saved by tearing it off.<\/p>\n\t

21 years later, the family was once again devastated by fire. on September 11th, 1898 fire once again destroyed their property. The family was living in Rust Township<\/a> in the Village of Hillman, Montmorency County, Michigan.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t

[zref]”Forest Fires in Hillman,” Article, Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, 13 September 1895, p. 3, col. 2, William Hawley; online images, Newspapers.com (www.Newspapers.com : downloaded 10 January 2019); https:\/\/www.newspapers.com\/image\/121684334.[\/zref]<\/p>\n\t

This time, the fire destroyed the Hawley barn and everything inside it. The total loss caused by the fire, including the Hawley property, was $3,000. That would be a value of $94,598.93 today.<\/p>\n\t

The Hawley family continued living in the Hillman area until about 1909 when they moved back to Alpena County to live in Ossineke<\/a>. To my knowledge, the eager enemy called fire did not strike the family again.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not once, but twice the William Hawley family was devastated by fire. The logging industry was a primary industry in Northern Michigan in the late 1800s and early 1900s. William Hawley’s family was no exception. William moved his family from upstate New York to Long Rapids Township, Alpena County, Michigan…<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/span><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n

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